We generally don't agree or accept things that we as a culture don't do on a daily basis. I understand for example that Inuits in Alaska have a limited food supply, therefore they eat seals. I think of seals as these adorable blubbery mammals who do no harm and don't deserve to die for any reason outside of normal nature - death or being eaten by another animal haha. It doesn't mean that Inuits are wrong or that they're bad people. But what they do is taboo to me. I have the luxury of fast food and a grocery store where food is readily available.

Last year, I was pissed off when reading about Kendall Jones' many big game hunts. She even made it her personal goal to kill Africa's Big 5 (white rhino, cape buffalo, leopard and an elephant.)

Seeing her smiley face next to these majestic animals who did nothing to deserve these deaths made me so sad. Now we have this Minnesota dentist who paid a hefty $50,000 to go "hunt" a lion.

The details of the story are this...

He and his guides secured a dead animal to the back of their truck, lured Cecil the lion (a studied and protected lion through Hwange Lion Research which is funded by Oxford University) outside of the protected Zimbabwe Hwange National Park, shined a spotlight on him and shot him with a crossbow (which did NOT kill him.) For 40hrs they tracked him, when they finally found him they shot him with a rifle. It was then that they "shockingly" - I say this facetiously, discovered they had killed a protected lion because they discovered his GPS tracking collar. They attempted to destroy the collar, but failed because it was found. Furthermore they beheaded Cecil and skinned him, leaving his remains to rot. From what I read/researched last year during the Kendall Jones uproar, most big game hunters claim they hunt for the sport and donate the meat to locals.

If you're so rich you can afford to blow $50,000 - donate it to the damn country. I'm sure locals, although they don't have access to conveniences like we do in America, can fend for themselves. If you want to help them, provide vaccines or antibiotics to illnesses they cannot easily seek care for. Clearly Walter Palmer wasn't worried about donating the remains of the lion because he took the head and skin and left him there. Not only did he kill a majestic PROTECTED animal, illegally. Yes...I hold him and his guide fully responsible. But now he's messed up the entire nature and existing lion pride. The remaining mature male, Jericho will now take over the pride which normally results in killing the cubs of the prior leader.

In this particular case, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management have stated that both the professional hunter and the land owner had neither a permit or quota to justify the killing of Cecil.

I realize I may have a slightly larger heart when it comes to animals. But for the love of God - why why why. We know we're the top of the food chain...do you really need to kill beautiful, innocent wild animals to prove it? Who are you trying to impress?

Stop it...just stop it. My heart breaks for all of the lives of animals (and people) who have been murdered. Because that's exactly what this is...murder.